I'm not sure if Jim Beaver checks this himself or anyone else knows, but I was wondering if his book about George Reeves
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markalester — 17 years ago(February 01, 2009 09:26 AM)
Yes. Sorry for the thread drift. (I have issues.) "The President's Analyst" looks good. I'd never heard of it.
Personally, I'm looking forward to finding out more about George Reeves as a whole person and not "just" how he passed away. Mister Reeves was always my favorite Superman. I know he wasn't six foot four and built like a "comic-book hero" but there was something about him the way he carried himself, his charm I don't know. He WAS Superman and he's the actor I compare every other actor to who puts on a cape.
I hope that the book will encompass ALL of Mister Reeves' life and not focus only on his death.
Mister Beaver has stated (I believe) that he was nine years old when Reeves passed. I can only imagine the effect that had on him at that time. Nothing is, or will ever be, like it was when we were nine years old. Sometimes I think it's what we spend our life pursuing somehow recapturing that feeling. When you're nine years old heroes really do fly.
"I couldn't wait for success so I decided to go ahead without it." -
whosit — 17 years ago(February 01, 2009 02:37 PM)
You summed up my feelings and interest EGGS-ZACTLY! I too want to know about the man and not just how he died. Granted, it's perfectly understandable that people tend to gravitate to the morbid for whatever reason as it is human naturebut when we do so we don't honor his life, career or memory.
For all the research others have done on George (and not to diminish their efforts), that all may pale in comparison to Jim's pending book. Hope I'm not putting too large an onus on him LOL2000!
George passed when I was nearly 1 finger old, and for some reason I don't quite recall when I first learned that he was gone but I do remember speaking with classmates in the schoolyard about itall the typical goofy kid stories about jumping out of a window etc. Years later I went to the library to research old newspaper clippings and found NY Times article that astounded me in the horrendous grammar and very strange commentarycompletely out of synch with what one would expect from them, and that further propelled my interest. Dang it, I'm rambling again!
Jim, if you need a hand just let me knowI'll put staples in your stapler or new ink in your printerwhatever it takes! -
markalester — 17 years ago(February 02, 2009 09:37 AM)
The story of Mister Reeves jumping out a window (or off a building) really seemed to have hung around as an urban myth. I didn't learn that Reeves was dead until the mid 1970's by which time I'd been watching reruns of TAS for quite a while on my local station. I was still young enough to not quite grasp the concepts of reruns, actors not really being who they portrayed and death really for that matter. It came as quite a blow. Now, I knew Reeves wasn't really Superman but I also knew that he was pretty darned cool and the thought that he'd killed himself seemed unreal and actually hurt me. I guess this is one of the reasons why his life story interests me.
My gut feeling (supported by not one single actual fact LOL) is that Mister Reeves did indeed commit suicide. Most of us have reached times in our lives where we were low, despondent, hurt, fearful, betrayed etc. Who is to say what we would have done if at that moment we'd been drinking and there was a loaded gun sitting next to us? Again, my "gut feeling" is that he did take his own life during that moment in time when he simply wasn't thinking clearly and basically "not of sound mind".
Of course I don't know. I'm only guessing, assuming, making things up. (Which, for many, seems enough to write a book with. LOL) This is why I suspect that Mister Beaver's book should shed not only new light, but also more light on both Mister Reeves' death as well as his life. Mister Beaver has walked the same streets, spoken with many of the people involved, he works in the same industry and perhaps most of all, he has researched, thought, wondered and asked questions since he was nine years old. I'd like to see anyone top that.
BTW: Thanks for sharing your personal history concerning this topic. I'm not only a fan of Mister Reeves and film but also of history in general. Reeves, yours mine etc. LOL
"I couldn't wait for success so I decided to go ahead without it." -
lexyladyjax — 10 years ago(March 16, 2016 11:13 AM)
My son is severely autistic. I know how difficult that can be. I've written a book on how to raise a child with autism but I'm not certain it's comprehensive enough.
Oddly, I came here to look for your book on George Reeves today. It wasn't on Amazon. I had no idea your child was autistic, too. It's practically an epidemic in the US today. Looks like I need to read your bio as well.
Best Regards,
Ramona Jackson
Great white sharks are attracted to death metal music. -
lexyladyjax — 9 years ago(December 09, 2016 10:05 AM)
excellent character actor, seen him in any number of roles
Back in the 90s, I think it was, I discovered that the book and movie lonesome dove was based in part on the movie bandolero, and the script for bandolero was written by james lee barrettNow, there are some great similarities between the characters and plot of bandolero and lonesome dove (there are a number of similarities); also the movie cheyenne social club was also written by james lee barret, and the two primary actors in that movie are also quite similar to the two main characters in lonesome dove.
Based on this information, I assumed james lee barrett was a pseudonym for larry mcmurtry, the author of lonesome dove. Then I saw a movie where james lee barrett acted. Not mcmurtry.
But before I was able to verify that mcmurtry was not barrett, I had informed imdb that the two were the same. Well, that was a mistake. I had posted this on a usenet groupforget the name that mr beaver also posted on. So he chewed me out for telling imbd that mcmurtry was barrett.
Hey, everyone makes a mistake.
Anyway, mcmurtry has been confronted about the connection between bandolero and lonesome dove, but his explanation (that it was a tribute to the movie) is lacking. Why would he write Dove as a tribute to some obscure movie? I suspect that mcmurtry was an uncredited script doctor for those two movies, and barrett got the credit. Happens all the time. IN fact mcmurtry wrote a book called film flam about his experiences in hollywood, but I read it a long time ago before I discovered the connection btw the book and the barrett movies, and I don't remember if there is anything relevant in the book.
There ya go!
Well, at least I'm not a stalker. I'm an adult who parents an adult son with severe autism. I don't chase an actor who hurt my feelings decades ago nor am I a bulletin board troll with multiple handles as you seem to be.
In addition, I wrote a book on the challenges of raising a child with severe ADD, ADHD, and Asperger's Syndrome. These are all forms of autism.
What have you contributed to society, Shelthom? Other than whinging about your poor hurt feelings and an extreme punctuation deficiency? Adults admit their errors and move on. They don't hold on for two decades and bitch about it online. Who do you think you are, Donald Trump?
Jim Beaver has written many of the biographies here on the IMDB. Check them out yourself. We all owe him a great deal for providing the information we use to look up the film information as well. That is, for those of us who are interested in such facts. Check the provider name, you will often find his name listed as the signer, that means he provided the facts. I discovered it myself a couple of years ago and did my own research. I was delighted to learn it was our own Bobby Singer from SUPERNATURAL who was so erudite.
Let me take this moment to say, thank you, Mr Jim Beaver, for all of the information. I provided a very minute amount of information for one single actor and I know how important it is to get things exactly right.
Thanks for asking, Shelthom. I am a teacher, a role model and I have taught many important lessons. When the student is ready the teacher appears. One day I hope your teacher will appear.
Bored now.